La Jolla News Nuggets: David Nisleit appointed new San Diego Police Chief and other local stories

COURTESY

Mayor Kevin Faulconer, left, has appointed 30-year San Diego Police veteran David Nisleit as new police chief.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer, left, has appointed 30-year San Diego Police veteran David Nisleit as new police chief. (COURTESY)

Corey Levitan

David Nisleit appointed new SD police chief

San Diego Police Department assistant chief David Nisleit has received a promotion. Once confirmed by City Council, he will replace Chief Shelley Zimmerman, who retires in March after an illustrious 35-year SDPD career.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer made the announcement last Friday, following a national search that included candidates from major cities across the country.

“Chief Nisleit is a native San Diegan and has dedicated the last 30 years of his life to this City and the SDPD,” Faulconer said. “Nisleit was the overwhelming recommendation of the community and professional interview panels. Chief Nisleit will build on SDPD’s strong reputation for community policing and make sure San Diego continues to be one of the safest big cities in the country.”

One of his top priorities as chief will be to oversee a national recruitment campaign to help attract and hire more police officers and fully staff the SDPD by 2020.

UC union workers rally for new contract

Between 60 and 70 cafeteria workers, custodians and patient-care workers rallied for a new union contract at UC San Diego’s Thornton Pavilion, Jan. 25. They held picket signs and chanted: “UC, UC, you’re not good. Treat your workers like you should.”

A statement from the UC Office of the President said that the university pays its service and patient-care workers “at or above market” and looked forward to reaching a settlement that included annual increases to keep salaries competitive. (A union official disputed the statement, saying its bargaining team was offered “zero percent across the board.”)

Scripps tease: Sex and evolution lecture

Marlene Zuk, a bio professor at the University of Minnesota, will discuss her 2013 book “Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us About Sex, Diet and How We Live,” 2 p.m. today (Feb. 8) at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Zuk — who argues that evolution happens much faster than was previously realized and, thus, we are no longer genetically identical to our ancestors — will unravel the caveman diet, gender stereotypes and other popular lifestyle trends. Part of the Richard H. and Glenda G. Rosenblatt Lectureship in Evolutionary Biology, the lecture takes place in the Scripps Seaside Forum at, 8610 Kennel Way. Admission and parking are free. A reception with light refreshments will follow.

Mayor changes cookie settings to accept

Mayor Kevin Faulconer bought the ceremonial first box of cookies from a group of Girl Scouts that included Troop 3869’s Bridgette Broms of La Jolla. All San Diego cookie proceeds provide 35,000 local Girl Scouts with programs in entrepreneurship, outdoors and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). Earnings also help fund camps, volunteer training, and the financial assistance that keeps Girl Scouting available and affordable for all.

San Diego Girl Scouts are in the international cookie spotlight this year, appearing on billboards, websites, training documents, and 1.25 million cookie order cards across the U.S. and on military bases in Europe.

Torrey Pines Road construction postponed

Construction on the Torrey Pines Road Corridor Project Phase II has been delayed until some time this month. A City notice dated Jan. 18 states door hangers will be distributed one week before construction starts. Work hours are expected to be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday.

It also states that traffic control will be implemented and access will be maintained at all times. The only reported impact will be to some street parking. More information at sandiego.gov/cip or engineering@sandiego.gov and reference the Torrey Pines Road Improvements Phase 2 and Torrey Pines Road Slope Restoration project.

The project will install a new sidewalk on the south side of Torrey Pines Road between Hillside Drive and Amalfi Street; install a pedestrian crossing on Torrey Pines Road just west of Princess Drive with street lighting and crosswalk systems; asphalt concrete overlay with striping of buffered bike lanes along Torrey Pines Road from La Jolla Shores Drive to Princess Drive and Coast Walk to Prospect Place; and install a flush stamped and painted asphalt median between Roseland Drive and Hillside Drive.

Village Garden Club’s tree enterprise

Last weekend, three 24-inch Jacaranda trees donated by the Village Garden Club of La Jolla (VGCLJ) were planted 50 miles up the I-15 north. Someone at a school in Valley Center, Calif. had heard about VGCLJ’s tree-planting program and suggested that its local rec center apply for a grant worth about $450.

“The Valley Center Community Center is a fabulous 1922 schoolhouse made over into a rec center,” says VGCLJ member Linda Shaw. “They had some old trees on the property and they wanted to put some color in there.”

Through VGCLJ, more than 2,000 Jacarandas have been planted across San Diego since 1986.

“They do well in San Diego,” Shaw says of the species, which is native to Southern Australia and South Africa. “They’re drought-tolerant after about three years and put forth fabulous purple blooms. They’re just absolutely gorgeous.”

Four Torreys nominated for All-American team, none selected

While four La Jolla Country Day School athletes were nominated to join the 2018 McDonald’s All American basketball team, none were selected for the final roster. Kendal Ellenback, Bianca Notarainni, Kiera Oakry and Jayda Villareal were considered for the nationally-compiled team.

Two La Jolla High School students, Cate Schroeder and Dasha MacAuslan, are on a mission to raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of San Diego, through a campaign known as Students of the Year. Competing against 14 other teams to see who can raise the most money, the two lead a team of other La Jolla High School students and will have a booth at the La Jolla Open Aire Farmers Market through Feb. 24.

“I got involved because I want to get into the medical field … specifically pediatrics and this is something that affects so many children. I wanted to get in there and help,” Cate told La Jolla Light. Learn more or donate: events.lls.org/sd/SDSOY2018/tracetores

La Jollan honored for real-estate deal

Charles C. Cornwell, senior vice president of SVN Asset Advisory Group, was awarded the Commercial Transaction of the Year award during the recent San Diego Association of Realtors’ Circle of Excellence awards. The La Jolla resident was honored for the sale of a San Jose office building he brokered for $8.5 million, in which he represented both seller and purchaser.